Hewlett-Packard absorbed the largest quarterly loss in its history as it owned up to mistakes that have left it scrambling to adapt to a shifting technology market. The loss of $8.9 billion announced Wednesday didn't come as a surprise. Earlier, HP had disclosed plans to take an $8 billion charge to reflect the shrinking value of Electronic Data Systems, a technology-consulting service it bought for $13 billion in 2008. HP is counting on Meg Whitman, its third CEO in slightly more than two years, to turn it around.

SAN FRANCISCO Hewlett-Packard absorbed the largest quarterly loss in its history as the Silicon Valley pioneer owned up to past mistakes that have left it scrambling to adapt to a shifting technology market.

A federal probe of Mark Hurd's hasty resignation as Hewlett-Packard Co.'s CEO touches on some of the biggest names in technology. Yet the potential damage to Hurd, HP or his current employer, Oracle, is likely limited, legal experts say.

Texas seems to have dodged the subprime bullet and maintained a semblance of economic well-being in the midst of the worst downturn since the Great Depression. And that is a bit puzzling even to Texans themselves: "We're not smarter than everybody else," says Barton Smith, director of the Institute for Regional Forecasting at the University of Houston.